Between the weather, the flak hit, and the damage to his controls, Hoover has no chance – 0% score

Zone 8: France (Leaving Target Zone)

1 Me110 is driven off by other B-17s

memyselfI is doing some calculations, and she’s worried about the fuel, with the port outboard tank now empty.

Zone 7: France

No enemy

MemyselfI is now really worried about the fuel level. She thinks that there’s not enough to get back to base, and there may not even be enough to reach England. She takes the yoke, and logical confirms her calculations.

Me scores 2 hits
-radio room – control cables are damaged, but still operable
-waist – warrior5 takes a light wound to the forehead, dropping to the deck unconscious.

Me breaks off attack due to low fuel

Zone 5: France

No enemy

Logical and memyselfI have a problem. The fuel gauges are all reading near empty, and it’s still a long way home. They might be able to get some more range if they cut a couple of the engines, but that would just get them to the English Channel. If they crashed alone with no radio, they’d be doomed.

Their choices appear to be just that, or crash landing in France and taking their chances. They consider their odds, and decide to take their chances on the water. If they can stay in formation long enough, they’ve got a reasonable chance of running into fighter cover, and possibly signaling to a fighter to follow them down. Landing in France means that most or all of the crew will likely be captured. Logical sets the engines lean, and the crew begins tossing overboard anything that’s not absolutely necessary.

Zone 4: France – back in fighter range

Warrior5 awakens with a huge headache.

The crew is delighted to see a flight of P-47s waiting to escort the flight in. As logical begins to pull out of formation to attract the fighters’ attention, the #1 engine sputters and dies for lack of fuel.

Fw scores 2 hits
-superficial damage to pilot compartment
-nose – hoover once again takes a hit, this time a serious wound to the right side of his head. He goes down in a heap, and dies of his wounds a few minutes later.

Logical pulls out of formation, but stays at altitude. Two of the P-47s pull in close to see what’s happening, and back in the radio room, Ecto-I passes signals to the closest of them. He reports up that the pilot gave him a thumbs up.

The #2 engine sputters to a stop as Dreamsicle crosses over the coast. They’re still a long way from home. A water landing is inevitable now, and logical begins easing the plane down, realizing that a powered landing will be much safer than a gliding landing.

Zone 3 Out: Western Channel

The crew gets busy at this point, donning their parachutes if they didn’t already have one, and ebola ducks into the bomb bay to get the life rafts ready to go.

Unfortunately, the bomb bay doors won’t open. Cursing, ebola calls up to the crew, and jennygump, now wearing her parachute, moves up to help him drag them back to the waist. They won’t be able to inflate the rafts ahead of time since they won’t fit through the waist door. They’ll have to hope that the plane stays afloat long enough to get the rafts out and inflated.

The #4 engine sputters to a stop.

MemyselfI gives a thumbs up to the escorting P-47 pilots, and logical guides the ship toward the water. Inside the plane, everyone braces for a landing. The Bad Guy moves back from the vulnerable nose and hooks himself into warrior5’s harness. Jennygump, no longer in the vulnerable ball turret, does the same with ebola’s harness.

Dreamsicle cruises down toward the water, the #3 engine still purring. MemyselfI calls out the altitude so the crew will know what’s coming. “300 feet…200 feet…100 feet…50 feet…brace yourself!”

In an enormous cascade of water, Dreamsicle slams into the English Channel. A massive wave washes over the pilot compartment, and the plexiglass nose shatters, sending water cascading through the front of the plane.

Navigator The Bad Guy (12), Ball Turret Gunner JennyGump (11), Right Waist Gunner EBOLA (5), and Left Waist Gunner Warrior5 pile out the waist gunner hatches, dragging the bulky rafts with them and struggling to swim in their chutes. As a team, they paddle away behind the wings as the nose of Dreamsicle begins to sink, The Bad Guy hauling the bloodied and woozy warrior5 to the left, and ebola heading right with two of the rafts. Jennygump waits with the third raft as water sloshes up to her thighs, then ducks out the left side with the third raft as soon as The Bad Guy is clear.

Bombardier Hoover (12) lies KIA in the flooded nose, and will go down with the ship.

Pilot Logical (12), Copilot memyselfi (12), and Engineer BigChiefDave (12) scramble out the top of the plane. After a moment’s hesitation to find the waist gun crew, they all take off their parachutes, dive off the top of the plane, and begin dog paddling, the two pilots heading left and the engineer heading right.

Tail Gunner cntrygal (12) waits until the plane settles, then calmly opens her tail hatch and scouts the situation. Climbing out onto the rising tail of the plane, she sees ebola swimming away from the plane, and dives in to join him after doffing her parachute.

Radio Op. Ecto-I (12) was in a tougher position to escape, and gets slammed into his radio room by the wave of water. Slogging through instant waist deep water, he makes his way to the left waist gun hatch and makes his escape as the tail starts rising into the air. Weighed down by his parachute, he struggles to get clear as the waist of the plane submerges.

Jennygump and ebola are in good shape, and are able to take a moment to shed their parachutes. With a flourish, jennygump pulls the inflation cords on the small raft that she holds, and it inflate perfectly.

On the other side of the plane, ebola inflates the first raft, and then the second. BigChiefDave joins him, and they help each other aboard. A moment later, cntrygal arrives and she too is pulled aboard into ebola’s raft.

On the left side, The Bad Guy keeps warrior5 afloat and safe as jennygump climbs aboard the raft.
Logical and memyselfI approach, but realize that warrior5 needs it worse. They hang onto raft as jennygump maneuvers it, and The Bad Guy and warrior5 climb aboard. A coughing Ecto-I also reaches the raft at that time and hangs on as well.

Only the tail of the plane is visible now, and the rafts paddle away as their trusty steed sinks below the seas. Once it’s clear, BigChiefDave and the Ebola/cntrygal team steam over to the overloaded boat, and logical and memyselfI climb into BigChiefDave’s raft. Ecto-I is hauled aboard the Ebola/cntrygal raft, and at that point the nine crew members wave in relief to the two P-47s circling overhead.

Twelve long hours later, and after three shift changes of escort fighters, the trio of rafts sees lights on the horizon. The Bad Guy fires a flare, and the crew rides home in style in a Lend Lease destroyer.

Aftereffects

Despite the plane loss, nine of the ten crew members are coming back for more. Dreamsicle II is in the works.

Target: St. Omer, just across the Channel (The mostly rookie crew gets a break, except for their position within the formation.)
Lead Bomber in formation, high vertically (extreme vulnerability)
Distance: 2 zones

Entering Bomb Zone
Good Weather
No Flak
It’s an easy run for Talisman – 40% score

Zone 2: English Channel (Leaving Target Zone)

1 Fw190 attacks

Talisman fires, misses
Radar Chief fires, misses
UMKC1L fires, misses

Fw misses, breaks off attack

Zone 1: England

Good weather

Engine #4 is overheating badly, so Rain Man turns it off, as well as the healthy Engine #1 to keep power symmetric. Lzen drops out of formation and El Duderino circles at the base until the other planes land. Even on two engines, it’s a good landing. No harm done.

Fbal4lif32 rips off his mask with only very minor burns to his mouth. He sprints back to grab a fire extinguisher.

Me circles, attacks again

Big Daddy fires, misses
sdchiefsfan fires, hits Me109

Me misses, breaks off attack

Fbal4lif32 comes back with an extinguisher and sprays down his oxygen system. Fortunately, the fire goes out relatively easily. So does fbal4lif32, though, as he passes out from oxygen deprivation. 58forever reports the situation to htismaqe and bwana, who shake their heads.

With the bomb sight damaged and no oxygen for the navigator, this flight is doomed. Flyin’ Doublewide is dropping out of formation so fbal4lif32 can get oxygen, and so is moving out of the formation.

Reluctantly, htismaqe decides to abort. He lets the second plane know, and then turns the B-17 in a great sweeping circle. No point in continuing a mission under these circumstances.

Between the weather, the flak hit, and the damage to his controls, Hoover has no chance – 0% score

memyselfI is doing some calculations, and she’s worried about the fuel, with the port outboard tank now empty.
MemyselfI is now really worried about the fuel level. She thinks that there’s not enough to get back to base, and there may not even be enough to reach England. She takes the yoke, and logical confirms her calculations.

Me scores 2 hits
-pilot compartment – unbeknownst to the logical and memyselfI, the landing gear mechanism is jammed
-nose – hoover takes a second light wound to the right foot

Me scores 2 hits
-radio room – control cables are damaged, but still operable
-waist – warrior5 takes a light wound to the forehead, dropping to the deck unconscious.
Fw scores 2 hits
-superficial damage to pilot compartment
-nose – hoover once again takes a hit, this time a serious wound to the right side of his head. He goes down in a heap, and dies of his wounds a few minutes later.

Fw circles, attacks again
The #2 engine sputters to a stop as Dreamsicle crosses over the coast.

Unfortunately, the bomb bay doors won’t open. Cursing, ebola calls up to the crew, and jennygump, now wearing her parachute, moves up to help him drag them back to the waist. They won’t be able to inflate the rafts ahead of time since they won’t fit through the waist door. They’ll have to hope that the plane stays afloat long enough to get the rafts out and inflated.

The #4 engine sputters to a stop.

In an enormous cascade of water, Dreamsicle slams into the English Channel. A massive wave washes over the pilot compartment, and the plexiglass nose shatters, sending water cascading through the front of the plane.

Navigator The Bad Guy (12), Ball Turret Gunner JennyGump (11), Right Waist Gunner EBOLA (5), and Left Waist Gunner Warrior5 pile out the waist gunner hatches, dragging the bulky rafts with them and struggling to swim in their chutes. As a team, they paddle away behind the wings as the nose of Dreamsicle begins to sink, The Bad Guy hauling the bloodied and woozy warrior5 to the left, and ebola heading right with two of the rafts. Jennygump waits with the third raft as water sloshes up to her thighs, then ducks out the left side with the third raft as soon as The Bad Guy is clear.

Bombardier Hoover (12) lies KIA in the flooded nose, and will go down with the ship.

Pilot Logical (12), Copilot memyselfi (12), and Engineer BigChiefDave (12) scramble out the top of the plane. After a moment’s hesitation to find the waist gun crew, they all take off their parachutes, dive off the top of the plane, and begin dog paddling, the two pilots heading left and the engineer heading right.

Tail Gunner cntrygal (12) waits until the plane settles, then calmly opens her tail hatch and scouts the situation. Climbing out onto the rising tail of the plane, she sees ebola swimming away from the plane, and dives in to join him after doffing her parachute.

Radio Op. Ecto-I (12) was in a tougher position to escape, and gets slammed into his radio room by the wave of water. Slogging through instant waist deep water, he makes his way to the left waist gun hatch and makes his escape as the tail starts rising into the air. Weighed down by his parachute, he struggles to get clear as the waist of the plane submerges.

Jennygump and ebola are in good shape, and are able to take a moment to shed their parachutes. With a flourish, jennygump pulls the inflation cords on the small raft that she holds, and it inflate perfectly.

On the other side of the plane, ebola inflates the first raft, and then the second. BigChiefDave joins him, and they help each other aboard. A moment later, cntrygal arrives and she too is pulled aboard into ebola’s raft.

On the left side, The Bad Guy keeps warrior5 afloat and safe as jennygump climbs aboard the raft.
Logical and memyselfI approach, but realize that warrior5 needs it worse. They hang onto raft as jennygump maneuvers it, and The Bad Guy and warrior5 climb aboard. A coughing Ecto-I also reaches the raft at that time and hangs on as well.

Only the tail of the plane is visible now, and the rafts paddle away as their trusty steed sinks below the seas. Once it’s clear, BigChiefDave and the Ebola/cntrygal team steam over to the overloaded boat, and logical and memyselfI climb into BigChiefDave’s raft. Ecto-I is hauled aboard the Ebola/cntrygal raft, and at that point the nine crew members wave in relief to the two P-47s circling overhead.

Twelve long hours later, and after three shift changes of escort fighters, the trio of rafts sees lights on the horizon. The Bad Guy fires a flare, and the crew rides home in style in a Lend Lease destroyer.

Water, water everywhere, and hoover’s in the drink.

I stayed calm throughout that. Damn. RIP Hoover - maybe we can get ya back. Warrior.. WTH?? Do you have a target on you????

PastorMikH

05-01-2004, 11:01 AM

Pastormikh fires, misses

That dice roll better be the exception instead of the norm! :mad: :)

I was hoping someone would get hit so I could move up a spot. :( :D

Zebedee DuBois

05-01-2004, 04:48 PM

Wet tee shirt contest on the Dreamsickle!!

Rain Man

05-01-2004, 09:17 PM

Wet tee shirt contest on the Dreamsickle!!

My money would've been on Hoover if he hadn't died.

morphius

05-01-2004, 09:26 PM

I made it through one mission, and have tied my number consecutive missions lived through on a single ship!

Bowser fires, misses
mohillbilly fires, damages Fw190
roger fires, kills the same Fw190
KC Jones orders Dave Lane to switch positions with the wounded Bug to ensure that the plane’s 6 o’clock is protected. Dave Lane leaves his position to make the switch.

Bad weather – major fog
The weather is horrific, with visibility near zero. The B-17 formation spreads out to avoid the risk of collision, and navigator saggysack and radio op. mikey23545 team with the pilot crew to ensure location. After circling for a bit as ground control allows extra time to clear runways, ndbbm lines up Throw Bomba and brings it in for a landing. At 50 feet, a faint outline of the ground becomes visible, and sure enough, the runway is there. Ndbbm brings it in.

“Whoa!” JimNasium yells, but it’s too late. The B-17 was almost lined up with the runway, but not quite. A hundred feet into the landing, it’s apparent that they’ve come in at an angle. As ndbbm pushes the rudder left, the right wheel runs off the runway. A split second later, the plane responds and overcorrects to the left. Ndbbm rudders back right as JimNasium frantically cuts the engines, but it’s too late. Throw Bomba leans hard, and the left wingtip takes out a fueling truck that should never have been parked that close. The force of the collision spins Throw Bomba back left, and the right wing hits the runway.

From there, no one knows exactly what happened next. Five seconds, later, though, Throw Bomba is in the middle of a taxiway, facing the wrong way, lying on its side with its left wing ripped off. Crew members burst from every available hatch as the fire starts, ChiefJustice being the last to limp away frantically through the spilled fuel. All ten members escape safely, but Throw Bomba goes up in a funeral pyre as ndbbm shrugs to his crewmates.

Fw scores 2 hits
-starboard wing – the #4 engine is hit, and goes wild. Clint in Wichita tries to control the plane, while Loki works to shut down the runaway engine.
-tail – jazzzlovr gets hit hard, sustaining a serious wound to the right chest while also losing her left arm halfway down the forearm.

Fw circles, attacks again

patteeu fires, misses
old_geezer fires, misses

Fw misses, breaks off attack

Loki manages to get the #4 engine shut down, but the mission is doomed. With only 3 engines, Lucy Quipment can’t keep up with the formation. With no choice, and also not wanting to delay getting medical attention to jazzzlovr, Clint drops out of formation and turns the plane around. They leave the bombs on board because they’re so close to England that they might as well bring them back.

Fw scores 2 hits
-nose – gh4chiefs takes a particularly nasty serious wound to the stomach. He goes down for the count, trying to scoop up internal organs on the deck
-superficial damage to pilot compartment

Fw circles, attacks again

Kc2003 fires, misses
Seclark fires, damages Fw190

Fw scores 3 hits
-superficial damage to tailplane
-superficial damage to nose
-port wing – the #2 engine blows up spectacularly. When the smoke clears, most of the engine is gone.

Fw breaks off attack due to damage

The pilots aren’t overly worried about the lost engine because they can keep up with the formation on only three engines. They just don’t want to lose another one.

I’m actually impressed that they made it all the way to the target and back.

Cntrygal

05-02-2004, 12:58 AM

Wet tee shirt contest on the Dreamsickle!!

:eek:

Cntrygal

05-02-2004, 01:04 AM

-tail – jazzzlovr gets hit hard, sustaining a serious wound to the right chest while also losing her left arm halfway down the forearm.
Aftereffects

Jazzzlovr goes home to face life as a one-armed tech support person.

Damn girl! Good thing you have poor blood circulation and didn't bleed out!

ChiefJustice

05-02-2004, 02:26 AM

-waist – ChiefJustice takes a light wound to the left foot

This is just spooky.Just this week i strained the tendon on my left
foot...i have been limping around for a few days now.Kevin is either some sort of Nostradamus or a voodoo witch doctor.In both cases
i think a burning at the stake could quell all of our fears.

Bug

05-02-2004, 06:42 AM

AAwwww crap!!! Well at least the nurses are friendly......

To the best crew in the 8th Air Force, here are the instructions to locating the best moonshine on Earth.
2 quarts under the pilots seat, 2 quarts in the navigators cabinet, 2 quarts inside the radio, one quart above each waist gun window, one quart in the ball turret control panel, and 2 quarts above the tail gunners window near the rudder cables. ENJOY!!

Good luck and Godspeed to you all....now I have to get my tubes cleaned............

Cntrygal

05-02-2004, 07:31 AM

AAwwww crap!!! Well at least the nurses are friendly......

To the best crew in the 8th Air Force, here are the instructions to locating the best moonshine on Earth.
2 quarts under the pilots seat, 2 quarts in the navigators cabinet, 2 quarts inside the radio, one quart above each waist gun window, one quart in the ball turret control panel, and 2 quarts above the tail gunners window near the rudder cables. ENJOY!!

Good luck and Godspeed to you all....now I have to get my tubes cleaned............

What plane were ya on??? o:-)

Bowser

05-02-2004, 08:52 AM

AAwwww crap!!! Well at least the nurses are friendly......

To the best crew in the 8th Air Force, here are the instructions to locating the best moonshine on Earth.
2 quarts under the pilots seat, 2 quarts in the navigators cabinet, 2 quarts inside the radio, one quart above each waist gun window, one quart in the ball turret control panel, and 2 quarts above the tail gunners window near the rudder cables. ENJOY!!

Good luck and Godspeed to you all....now I have to get my tubes cleaned............

Good thing I pulled your butt back in the plane on the last mission! Now we know where the stash is!!

Oh, and good luck with the tube thing............

:D

JazzzLovr

05-02-2004, 12:22 PM

-tail – jazzzlovr gets hit hard, sustaining a serious wound to the right chest while also losing her left arm halfway down the forearm.

It's a good thing I'm right-handed.

With no choice, and also not wanting to delay getting medical attention to jazzzlovr, Clint drops out of formation and turns the plane around.

Awwww... I met Clint in person a few months ago. I knew he was actually a nice guy. ;)

Jazzzlovr goes home to face life as a one-armed tech support person.

So, Kevin, how much of an annual disability payment do you think I could get out of COLA for this? :D

4th and Long

05-02-2004, 02:08 PM

http://www.chiefsplanet.com/BB/attachment.php?attachmentid=21525

B17 #10 – Gunther’s Thunder III – Rise of the Machine

By the looks of the mission, the rest of the planes had the Krauts busy. We really didn't see much resistance. That's not a complaint mind you. :D

Poor bug. I'm going to miss that guy. :(

Thankfully I know where he hides his alcohol stash. :thumb:

I better get to it before Countrygirl boards our plane and makes off with the goods. :)

Fw scores 2 hits
-nose – gh4chiefs takes a particularly nasty serious wound to the stomach. He goes down for the count, trying to scoop up internal organs on the deck
-superficial damage to pilot compartment

Fw circles, attacks again

Kc2003 fires, misses
Seclark fires, damages Fw190

Fw scores 3 hits
-superficial damage to tailplane
-superficial damage to nose
-port wing – the #2 engine blows up spectacularly. When the smoke clears, most of the engine is gone.

Fw breaks off attack due to damage

The pilots aren’t overly worried about the lost engine because they can keep up with the formation on only three engines. They just don’t want to lose another one.

I’m actually impressed that they made it all the way to the target and back.Just a typical Sacktime mission. We get the shit kicked out of us. Lose a engine or two. Knock out a few Messerschmidts and Folke Wolfes-sp. Come home all bruised and bloodied and patch up the plane with duct tape and chicken wire. No big deal.:thumb:

Cntrygal

05-03-2004, 03:44 AM

Thankfully I know where he hides his alcohol stash. :thumb:

I better get to it before Countrygirl boards our plane and makes off with the goods. :)

"4th! How are ya doing? Tough luck about Bug. :shake: Anyway, we're having our 'post mission Tailgunners meeting' tonight at the hooch. Since you've been promoted, you're officially invited. Everyone brings a bottle to put up on the bar. See ya after chow. ;) "

"4th! How are ya doing? Tough luck about Bug. :shake: Anyway, we're having our 'post mission Tailgunners meeting' tonight at the hooch. Since you've been promoted, you're officially invited. Everyone brings a bottle to put up on the bar. See ya after chow. ;) "
-after procuring Bug's stash and stowing it safely away in his pack, 4th and Long disembarks the plane, only to see Cntrygal headed his way-

"Hi'ya Cntry! Tailgunners meeting obvious sexual reference you say? Tonight? At the hooch? Bring a bottle to put up on the bar? -wondering what she'd do with that, especially since she was winking when she said it- Uhh yeah, I'll give that some serious thought. I'm off to the rack. Enjoy chow." ;)

ndbbm

05-03-2004, 07:51 AM

Bad weather – major fog
The weather is horrific, with visibility near zero. The B-17 formation spreads out to avoid the risk of collision, and navigator saggysack and radio op. mikey23545 team with the pilot crew to ensure location. After circling for a bit as ground control allows extra time to clear runways, ndbbm lines up Throw Bomba and brings it in for a landing. At 50 feet, a faint outline of the ground becomes visible, and sure enough, the runway is there. Ndbbm brings it in.

“Whoa!” JimNasium yells, but it’s too late. The B-17 was almost lined up with the runway, but not quite. A hundred feet into the landing, it’s apparent that they’ve come in at an angle. As ndbbm pushes the rudder left, the right wheel runs off the runway. A split second later, the plane responds and overcorrects to the left. Ndbbm rudders back right as JimNasium frantically cuts the engines, but it’s too late. Throw Bomba leans hard, and the left wingtip takes out a fueling truck that should never have been parked that close. The force of the collision spins Throw Bomba back left, and the right wing hits the runway.

From there, no one knows exactly what happened next. Five seconds, later, though, Throw Bomba is in the middle of a taxiway, facing the wrong way, lying on its side with its left wing ripped off. Crew members burst from every available hatch as the fire starts, ChiefJustice being the last to limp away frantically through the spilled fuel. All ten members escape safely, but Throw Bomba goes up in a funeral pyre as ndbbm shrugs to his crewmates.

dang... that's the second time a bomb has been hit and we haven't exploded...

bon voyage jazzzlovr

Amnorix

05-04-2004, 03:05 PM

dang... that's the second time a bomb has been hit and we haven't exploded...

bon voyage jazzzlovr

Actually, seems to happen all the time. I think there's been at least 15-20 hits on bombs without exploding yet. Seems to be a VERY low probability event.

Rain Man

05-04-2004, 05:06 PM

Actually, seems to happen all the time. I think there's been at least 15-20 hits on bombs without exploding yet. Seems to be a VERY low probability event.

1 in 6, actually, if a bomb gets hit. Other than one unfortunate plane early on, you're beating the odds.

Amnorix

05-04-2004, 07:40 PM

1 in 6, actually, if a bomb gets hit. Other than one unfortunate plane early on, you're beating the odds.

aaah...yeah, I wouldn't have guessed that.

I didn't "see" the plane die a horrible death early on -- I wasn't paying attention to this back then.

BTW, I want to commend you on the fine job you're doing. I'm frankly stunned that there's so much complexity to it. I never would have guessed that one possible result in this game would be serious fog over the landing strip, resulting in coming in at a slight angle, which has the expected disastrous results. It takes a very well developed game to include stuff like that.

Dartgod

05-05-2004, 08:35 AM

It's a good thing I'm right-handed.
Well, if you weren't, you are now. :p

PastorMikH

05-05-2004, 04:11 PM

What are the odds now of Fooo Fighters getting a bomb shot and it explodes????

Amnorix may have just jinxed the plane. But then again Amnorix, if you die and get put on a lower numbered plane you don't have to wait a week to see the results of your flight.:)

Amnorix

05-06-2004, 05:38 AM

What are the odds now of Fooo Fighters getting a bomb shot and it explodes????

Amnorix may have just jinxed the plane. But then again Amnorix, if you die and get put on a lower numbered plane you don't have to wait a week to see the results of your flight.:)

Entering Bomb Zone
Good Weather
Heavy Flak - misses
This isn’t good. The bomb bay doors won’t open – 0% score, as War Dog flies over the target without a bomb release.

Zone 8 Out: France (Leaving Target Zone)

Chief_Faithful, without his gun, is ordered by DenverChief to try to unjam the doors. Wearing his parachute, Chief Faithful climbs down into the bomb bay, hangs on with an unparalleled motivation, and tries to kick the doors open. He has mixed feelings when it won’t break open. They’re jammed solid.

Up front, Boozer frowns as other planes pass War Dog. Burdened by its bombs, the B-17 can’t keep up with the accelerating formation and is falling back through the pack.

1 Fw190 attacks

Sure-Oz fires, misses
Lightning Rod fires, misses

Fw misses, breaks off attack

2 Me110s are driven off by other B-17s

Zone 7 Out: France

War Dog has some serious problems. DenverChief’s and Boozer’s fingers are freezing to the yokes, and they’re now dropping out the back of the formation. Frowning, DenverChief drops the plane out of formation and descends to 10,000 feet to at least get some warmth and hopefully sneak out alone.

Me scores 5 hits
-nose – port cheek gun out.
-port wing – inboard fuel tank is hit, but self-seals with no fire, explosion, or leakage
-#1 engine is hit and grinds to a halt. War Dog is now down to two engines
-superficial damage to starboard wing
-superficial damage to starboard wing

Me circles, attacks again

Lightning Rod fires, misses

Me breaks off attack due to fuel

SNR moves up and helps with the bomb doors, but to no avail. Even bouncing their entire weight on the doors, SNR and Chief_Faithful can’t unwedge the twisted metal. Chief_Faithful gives up and reports that the bombs can’t be dropped. They’ll have to carry them home.

Veteran copilot boozer is now officially worried. With two engines and a full bomb load, War Dog is struggling to maintain altitude even with no maneuvering. Any type of turn or evasive action is going to cost them altitude from here on out.

Fw scores 3 hits
-starboard wing – landing gear is destroyed
-tail – Chief_Faithful is in the wrong place at the wrong time, and sustains a serious wound to the right thigh. He goes down in the in the empennage part way to the tail.
-superficial damage to waist

Fw scores 3 hits
-superficial damage to nose
-nose – sure-oz, lying on the deck wounded, takes another serious hit to the left foot, shattering it. He bleeds out and dies on board.
-nose – the nose gun pod is completely destroyed, leaving a gaping hole at the front of the plane. Gunther_Fan hangs on against the wind, manning the only surviving gun in the nose.

Fw scores 2 hits
-port wing – the #2 engine is hit and sputters to a stop. War Dog is now down to only the #4 engine and is dropping fast. The crew realizes that they won’t be landing in England, and a scramble begins for the parachutes.
-tail – Chief_Faithful once again is unlucky, taking a light wound that shatters his right knee. He loses consciousness.

To the crew’s cheers, 3 British Spitfires streak in from 12 o’clock. The Spitfires furiously drive off 1 Fw

Fw circles, attacks again

Braincase fires, damages Fw190

Fw scores 3 hits
-radio room – With a whoosh, the wiring in the radio room catches fire. Stinger limps to the nearest fire extinguisher and gets the fire under control.
-nose – the bomb controls are destroyed, not that it matters
-superficial damage to starboard wing

The Spitfires return and drive off the other Fw.

War Dog is now at 3,000 feet and the descent is accelerating. Denverchief continues flying while boozer lets everyone know that the plane is in imminent trouble.

Zone 3: Western Channel

Limping on one engine, with much of the crew hurt and guns damaged, War Dog crosses the coastline and enters the Western English Channel. Boozer shakes his head, though. At this rate, War Dog will go into the drink long before it even comes close to England.

It gets worse. Since the plane is still carrying it’s bombs, they can’t attempt a water landing, or the bombs will probably explode on impact. And they can’t land on a French airfield for the same reason, since two of their three landing gear wheels are inoperable.

Bailing out over water would be a near-suicide, because the water is choppy and they’re still a long way from British-controlled waters.

A decision has to be made soon, as the plane is now down to about 2,000 feet. Denverchief looks to the veteran Boozer for guidance. Boozer reluctantly recommends that the plane turn around and fly back over France, so the crew can bail out over land. At least they’ll have a strong chance of surviving the landing, and then they’ll be on their own to escape.

War Dog radios its attentions to the loyal Spitfires, and they waggle their wings and accelerate away. They can do nothing to help at this point, and wish their best to the War Dog crew.

DenverChief turns the plane around and flies back over the coast, heading for the most wooded area he can find. Down in the nose, Gunther_Fan offers a crash course over the intercom system about where they’ll be bailing out, and the crew all wishes each other good luck. Once over the woods, parachutes begin blooming from War Dog at an uncomfortably low altitude.

Bombardier Sure-Oz (12) is KIA on the plane, and goes down with it.

Tail Gunner Chief Faithful (12) is mistakenly assumed to be dead as he lies unconscious in a pool of blood. He too goes down with the plane as there was no time to check on him more thoroughly.

Rookie Left Waist Gunner the Talking Can is the first to bail out, and he lands well in a copse of woods. Fresh from American soil and well-fed, he heads straight north at a jog, and covers the 200 miles to the coast in less than four days, hiding the entire time and traveling mostly at night. Once he reaches the coast, he “appropriates” a small sailboat at gunpoint and heads northeast. Twelve house later, he pulls into a small port in England and gives the sailboat to a young boy who helps him dock. He surprises central command by merely showing up at base a week later, but never explains why it took him a week to get from the port back to the base.

Copilot Boozer (12) and Radio Op. Stinger bail out next, both landing well. Unfortunately, stinger isn’t overly mobile on his injured foot. Boozer stays with him, and they don’t have much of a chance. They evade detection for three days, but haven’t made much headway when a French farmer turns them in at gunpoint. Off to the Stalag.

Ball Turret Gunner Braincase (6) dives out, pulling his chute quickly since the plane is now at less than 1,000 feet. He lands hard, but eventually determines that he didn’t break any bones despite hitting the ground hard. He rises and starts walking, eventually meeting an elderly lady driving a haycart. With the old woman’s help, he hides in the haycart, and that night, after a good simple meal of meat and potatoes, he joins the French Underground. Killing two Germans and blowing up a railyard on his way north, he discovers a dark side that enjoys sneaking up behind another human being and strangling him to death silently while his victim struggles, writhes, and eventually falls limp. It is an enjoyment that will come back to haunt him later in life. However, it’s a skill that comes in handy at the moment, and it’s with great reluctance that he finally says goodbye to his noble allies on the northern coast. A French fisherman trolls him to a meeting point where an American speedboat takes him aboard and delivers him back to base. Braincase will fly again.

Right Waist Gunner SNR bails out closer to the ground than he hoped, and lands hard as well. Too hard. Hobbling on a broken right leg, he nonetheless hides out for three days, crawling over two miles, before he’s captured and sent off to the stalag.

Engineer Lightning Rod (12) and Navigator Gunther_Fan (12) go out next. Gunther_Fan is nursing an injured hip, and the landing didn’t help it any as it dislocates and causes serious internal damage. Lightning Rod, who was fortunate to avoid injury, helps carry him, but it’s no use. With the Germans closing in, Gunther_Fan offers up the noble, “Leave me and save yourself” speech. Recognizing the truth of it, Lightning Rod shakes hands and takes off from an otherwise certain capture. As Gunther_Fan delays the Germans and gives them bad information during his capture and interrogation (and long recovery in Germany), Lightning Rod is off like a rabbit. He meets a beautiful auburn-haired woman who takes him in, and enjoys three days of hiding under her bed before the Underground picks him up. Sending him south and west through less hostile territory, he eventually finds his way to Spain, then heads down to Gibraltar and identifies himself joins the garrison there for the short term. A week later, he’s on a Destroyer headed back to base.

Pilot DenverChief is the last one out of the plane, as he sets it on autopilot. War Dog is now at only 400 feet, and 2 Me110s have discovered it. As DenverChief bails out, one of the planes goes for the kill. Helpless in his chute, DenverChief feels bullets rip his parachute, and he also takes a light wound to the head. When he wakes up, he’s in a temporary POW hospital, lying unattended. Looking around, he sees no one guarding the place, and merely walks out the door, confused and somewhat disoriented. At the edge of town, a wide-eyed townsperson frantically waves him into a Safe House. A week later, he’s sporting a flashy scar but otherwise is back to 100 percent, and his rescuers drive him on the backroads to a British rendezvous point. British Special Forces pick him up on their way back from a mission they won’t talk about, and he rides with them on a mini-sub headed back to England, thereby completing a rare escape from his captors.

Aftereffects

Surprisingly, almost half the crew made it out. War Dog is still flying.

War Dog took 55 hits, and still four guys got home! They lost three engines, four guns, two landing gear wheels, most of the bombing system, part of the nose pod, the tail pod, an aileron, most of the rudder, most of the control cables, and probably more, and still kept the bird in the air for most of the mission.

Amnorix

05-11-2004, 10:09 AM

http://www.chiefsplanet.com/BB/attachment.php?attachmentid=21537
The new symbol of "unkillable" Damn!!!!A decision has to be made soon, as the plane is now down to about 2,000 feet. Denverchief looks to the veteran Boozer for guidance. Boozer reluctantly recommends that the plane turn around and fly back over France, so the crew can bail out over land. At least they’ll have a strong chance of surviving the landing, and then they’ll be on their own to escape. ....and saves most of the crew with his correct and decisive leadership. Tail Gunner Chief Faithful (12) is mistakenly assumed to be dead as he lies unconscious in a pool of blood. He too goes down with the plane as there was no time to check on him more thoroughly. Which would be about the fourth piece of stunning bad luck for him this flight... Braincase .... Killing two Germans and blowing up a railyard on his way north, he discovers a dark side that enjoys sneaking up behind another human being and strangling him to death silently while his victim struggles, writhes, and eventually falls limp. It is an enjoyment that will come back to haunt him later in life. However, it’s a skill that comes in handy at the moment, and it’s with great reluctance that he finally says goodbye to his noble allies on the northern coast. :shake::shake: Let's hope the Krauts do him in first....Lightning Rod is off like a rabbit. He meets a beautiful auburn-haired woman who takes him in, and enjoys three days of hiding under her bed before the Underground picks him up. I'll bet he enjoyed the three days hiding "under" her bed... :pPilot DenverChief is the last one out of the plane, as he sets it on autopilot. War Dog is now at only 400 feet, and 2 Me110s have discovered it. As DenverChief bails out, one of the planes goes for the kill. Helpless in his chute, DenverChief feels bullets rip his parachute, and he also takes a light wound to the head. When he wakes up, he’s in a temporary POW hospital, lying unattended. Looking around, he sees no one guarding the place, and merely walks out the door, confused and somewhat disoriented. At the edge of town, a wide-eyed townsperson frantically waves him into a Safe House. A week later, he’s sporting a flashy scar but otherwise is back to 100 percent, and his rescuers drive him on the backroads to a British rendezvous point. British Special Forces pick him up on their way back from a mission they won’t talk about, and he rides with them on a mini-sub headed back to England, thereby completing a rare escape from his captors. I now see where Chief Faithful's luck went... :doh!: Simply amazing.War Dog took 55 hits, and still four guys got home! They lost three engines, four guns, two landing gear wheels, most of the bombing system, part of the nose pod, the tail pod, an aileron, most of the rudder, most of the control cables, and probably more, and still kept the bird in the air for most of the mission.And speaking about amazing.... That's one damn tough dog....

go bowe

05-13-2004, 02:47 PM

The new symbol of "unkillable" Damn!!!!....and saves most of the crew with his correct and decisive leadership. Which would be about the fourth piece of stunning bad luck for him this flight...:shake::shake: Let's hope the Krauts do him in first....I'll bet he enjoyed the three days hiding "under" her bed... :pI now see where Chief Faithful's luck went... :doh!: Simply amazing.And speaking about amazing.... That's one damn tough dog....what he said! :D

Boozer

05-13-2004, 07:25 PM

....and saves most of the crew with his correct and decisive leadership.

Fat lot of good it did me. :mad: Oh well, maybe I'll live to be liberated from the POW camp just like my grandfather was.

Hydrae

05-15-2004, 01:51 PM

Amazing adventure for the War Dog! Just one question, what was the rest of this line: